PMPs earn PDUs for participating at PMKB?

[pmkb]

Is it possible to earn professional development units (PDU) for PMI's PMP certification under the following qualifying activities (emphasis added):

2sdl - Self-directed learning activities are individualized learning
projects involving personally conducted research or study. Learning may
include informal activities such as discussions or coaching sessions with
colleagues, co-workers, clients or consultants. It may include
articles, books, instructional manuals, videos, CD-ROMs, or other material
resources.

...

Category 5: Volunteer Service to Professional or Community Organizations

A maximum of 20 PDUs may be earned per cycle through professional service
or by providing non-compensated project management services to
non-employer or non-client customer groups. Examples of qualifying
activities and their associated PDU values include the following:

...3. Provide project management related services to a community or
charitable group

Would providing assistance (by answering questions and/or providing guidance) to an on-line community on project management issues be eligible for PDU credit? We have sent an inquiry to PMI for an opinion. Stay tuned...

[pmkb]

PMI has confirmed that PMPs may claim PDU credit under Category #2 SDL for participation in forum discussions where the following criteria are met:

Qualifying self-directed learning activities must be relevant to project management, meet a specified purpose, and use knowledgeable resources.

Per our correspondence with PMI:

Does this activity involve learning through these discussions? If so than you
can report this under Category #2 SDL.

So, get involved and ask questions, help others out and explore the boundaries of project management. It's a win-win situation for all involved with a little icing on the cake for PMPs.

According to PMI, a maximum of 15 Self-directed Learning PDUs may be earned per CCR cycle.

We are still waiting on a final word regarding earning PDU credit under Category 5(3).

[Mark V. Smith]

Some posts are light-hearted and sharing in the fun or frustrating side of things. Some posts are serious questions or discussions that would qualify toward time spent in PDU-worthy involvement. Would it be worthwhile to have/use a "Post Icon" to distinguish posts that are thusly relevant so we have some traceability? I'm thinking of some little icon that would provide a readily visible clue that would allow us to quickly backcheck our own posts to use in estimating how many PDU's might be appropriate.

[pmkb]

That's a great idea Mark! I've added a new icon (see if you can spot it next to the title of this post) that should suffice.

We plan to introduce a time tracking feature that should also help members assess their efforts, but it may not be available for a while.

[Mark V. Smith]

A little globe, PMI like. Very nice.

Members can edit their own past posts to change the Post Icon but you have to go into the Advanced Edit to do it.

[chebsam]

Hi,

How does one quantify the PDU's from the Posts. Is there anything like 1 PDU per 10 reply posts , 2 per article etc ?. Im just wondering how to convert the same and who would do the job of quantifying and awarding PDU's for certain posts ?.

But its a good idea to earn a few PDU's this way.

Sam,PMP

[pmkb]

Hi Sam, welcome to the forum!

There is no firm guideline for claiming these PDU credits AFAIK. It's up to you to submit a claim/report (sort of like expense reports on the honor system) and it should reflect the time you spent on qualifying discussions - joking around shouldn't be included.

I wouldn't base it on the number of posts. Some posts might take you longer to compose (or research) than others.

[cdevera]

PMKB

How about if a member answers/advice a fellow member but using Private Messages? can it also be used to qualify oneself to gain credit or is this only limited to thread posts?

Regards,

Christian

[pmkb]

The medium is not the important criteria. Public posts, private messages (PMs) or verbal conversations - it doesn't really matter as long as the criteria set forth by section 2sdl is met:

Self-Directed Learning

2sdl - Self-directed learning activities are individualized learning projects involving personally conducted research or study. Learning may include informal activities such as discussions or coaching sessions with colleagues, co-workers, clients or consultants. It may include articles, books, instructional manuals, videos, CD-ROMs, or other material resources.

Qualifying self-directed learning activities must be relevant to project management, meet a specified purpose, and use knowledgeable resources. Use the Self-directed Learning Activities Worksheet on the tear-off page to determine PDUs for Category 2 – Self-directed Learning. Include the worksheet with the CCR Activity Reporting Form. Required documentation: If audited, PMPs should be able to provide evidence supporting their reported learning project. This may include notes from and dates of discussions or reading.

It appears that PMI just wants the ability to verify that the discussion took place and met the quality guideline should an audit take place. Since you can easily print your PMs (or copy/paste them to an email), it would be easy to provide the proof for the discussions you claim for credit.

[chebsam]

Hi ,

I have been following up with PMI for the discussions online and the claiming PDU's against such online discussion activities. Please see below the response from PMI Certifications Standards Supervisor.

Any thoughts on this ?.

Sam,PMP

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Tom Bates
Date: Feb 2, 2006 9:38 PM
Subject: RE: PDU's for Posting Articles in Discussion Groups

Thank you, Sam and Mounirm, for the questions. The PDU Categories defined by the PMI CCR program are specific as far as what types of activities are acceptable for PDUs. The posting and response to online discussion topics are not recognized by the program, currently. The closest that the program comes is the interview and discussion aspects as described in category 2SDL. It seems that you, Sam, are putting out some effort in getting these articles posted, however I cannot see my way clear to granting PDUs for this in any other way.
I hope I have been able to answer your questions. Please let me know if you have any other issues or concerns.


Tom Bates
Certifications Standards Supervisor
Project Management Institute
4 Campus Boulevard
Newtown Square, PA 19073
Internet: http://www.pmi.org


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